During my senior year of college, a friend and I decided to bake a homemade apple pie for fun one Friday afternoon. Since he rarely baked anything (and definitely had never baked apple pie from scratch!), I loaded the back seat of my car with apples, spices, my flour bin, plastic wrap, and a disposable pie plate before driving to his apartment.
When I arrived, my friend ran out to the street to help me carry everything upstairs, and at the sight of the ingredients on their kitchen table, his roommate decided he also wanted to learn how to bake apple pie.
As I pulled out the recipe, they both looked at me expectantly…
And I realized they thought I was going to bake the entire pie for them! I laughed and shook my head, declaring that the best way to learn was by doing. I stood alongside them, showing them what to do and supervising as they worked.
They started by mixing together the dough for the pie crust, carefully cutting cold butter into the flour and stirring in teaspoons of ice water until the mixture came together. After shaping it into a circle and sealing it inside plastic wrap to chill in the refrigerator, they turned to the filling, slowing slicing the apples into uniform pieces and tossing those with lots of sugar and spices.
As they pulled the chilled dough out of the refrigerator, I realized I had completely forgotten to pack my rolling pin. “You wouldn’t happen to have one, would you?” I asked, already knowing the answer.
Does this homemade apple pie taste healthy?
Not in the slightest. In fact, you’d never know that this was a vegan apple pie, nor a gluten free apple pie.
I’ve actually been making this particular recipe since high school (sad to say, that is over 10 years for this particular pie haha!), and it’s one that I always come back to.
I promise that none of your guests, nor you, will know that this healthy apple pie is indeed vegan and gluten free (and can easily be made Paleo and nut free!).
It’s all in the easy apple pie filling. Not to mention, the crust is so flaky, no one will know this apple pie is vegan.
Ingredients to make the best healthy pie
For the apple pie
Pie crust– Any store bought or homemade pie crust can be used. My favorite pre-prepared one is the Wholefoods prepared pie crust as it bakes beautifully and holds its shape well.
Apples– Just like in my apple crisp recipe, I recommend using a mix of tart and sweet kinds of apples,like granny smith and golden delicious ones.
Coconut sugar– A healthier choice over white or brown sugar. You can also use a sugar substitute, like brown sugar or erythritol.
Flour– White whole wheat flour, which is 100% whole grains (but looks like white flour!).
Apple pie spice- A mix of cinnamon, nutmeg, and cardamon.
For the crumb topping
Coconut sugar– You can also use sugar free alternatives.
Flour– Again, use the white whole wheat flour.
Walnuts– Roughly chopped. They add a delicious and nutty crunch and pairs beautifully with the
apples.
Coconut oil OR butter– Either coconut oil or butter can be used. If you use coconut oil, stick to the refined variety to ensure there is no coconut flavor.
How do you make a healthy apple pie?
1. In a mixing bowl, add the apples, coconut sugar, flour, and cinnamon, and mix well.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk together the crumb topping ingredients until combined.
3. Transfer the apple mixture into a pie crust. Cover the mixture with the crumb topping
